The Failure.....That Wasn't

We're all guilty of the occasional kitchen blunder....the recipe that the kids hated, the cake that fell, the tried-and-true side dish that didn't turn out right this time. I know I've had my share! And most folks probably toss out the failure without a second thought. It's okay if you've done that - I won't tell! But if you think about it, some of the things we use every day were created because of a "failure" to make something else! So instead of a spoiled batch of whatever, you now have an opportunity to create something new and different for your family!

Last fall I bought some cherries to make my husband's favorite cherry jam. I used the same pectin that I always use, and followed the procedure the way I've always done it. I timed everything and properly canned the jars. But instead of a lovely gelled product, I ended up with a slightly thickened liquid. Talk about disappointment!! But I went ahead and put it in the cabinet anyway. This morning, I made a batch of pancakes, and the kids loved the "cherry syrup" that I heated for them to pour over the top. We've had cherry yogurt where I've added the failed jam to thick store-bought yogurt. We've even had a poke cake with the cherry jam poured over it instead of unset jello. The point is that I'm using all the cherry jam that technically failed, and it's really good!!!

Another creative moment was when I baked a cake that stuck terribly in the middle. I don't know why, but apparently I didn't grease the center well. When I tried to remove the cake from the pan, It fell into a few pieces. I was quite upset, but decided to make something good out of the situation. I ended up tearing the cake into pieces and layering them in a glass bowl with sliced strawberries and Cool Whip. I even made a simple strawberry glaze and layered that in there, too. Instead of cake, we had a strawberry shortcake trifle, and nobody even knew it was a mistake!! :-)

I tried a new recipe for granola in the crock pot. Yuck. It never set up like granola, and I basically ended up with slightly flavored oats. I came really close to tossing out this mess, but instead I put it into storage containers to see if I could find a use for it. It worked pretty well for an apple pie topping, and I've also used it on muffins prior to baking. I still have some left and am contemplating trying to substitute it in cookies for the standard oats.

The point is, even when you have a kitchen goof, all is not lost. You can probably find a great use for what you have created, and it's possible that nobody will ever know that the end result was not the planned outcome. Have fun with it!!!

I'm in a Magazine!

If you read the wonderful magazine, "All You," you will find ME in the current issue!!! I submitted a grocery tip that they chose to publish. My tip and photo are at the top of page 22! It's very weird, but kind of exciting, to see myself in one of my favorite magazines. They edited my tip, but it's still basically what I said.

Let me know if you see it!!! :-)

Spaghetti Noodles

On Friday night, my birthday girl asked for spaghetti and meatballs for dinner. We had lots of leftovers! On Saturday, I made a meatball pizza to use up the meatballs and sauce - it was great! But I still had a bowl full of spaghetti noodles in the fridge, and nobody really wanted to have regular ol' spaghetti again. Since leftover noodles are fairly common, I thought I would share a couple of recipes to use them up!

Shrimp Pasta (this is what we had tonight)

2 T. butter/margarine
1/2 lb. shrimp, peeled and deveined
Minced garlic to taste
1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. parmesan cheese
1/2 c. sour cream or yogurt
About a half-pound of cooked spaghetti or other pasta
Optional: To add some color, you can add spinach leaves, mushrooms, or something similar that you like (and have leftover....)

Melt butter in saucepan. Saute garlic and shrimp until the shrimp "pink up." (Also, saute the spinach leaves or mushrooms in this step.)

Stir in the milk, parmesan, and sour cream/yogurt until blended. Add pasta and toss gently to coat. Cook until heated through and sauce has attached to pasta and thickened.

The kids LOVE this dish!

Another use that my DH and I really enjoy, but that isn't quite as popular with the kids is this one:

Spaghetti Salad

About 3/4 lb. cooked spaghetti/pasta
1 lb. frozen broccoli florets
3 T. red wine vinegar
3 T. olive oil
1 t. minced garlic
Salt and pepper to taste
1 can (28 oz.) diced tomatoes, drained
2 cans solid white tuna in water, drained and flaked

Cook broccoli according to package directions and set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, whisk together oil, vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper until well blended. Stir in tomatoes and tuna. Add noodles and broccoli and toss to coat.

Serve at room temperature or chilled, whichever you prefer. You can also make this with leftover chicken if you have it. It's an interesting twist on pasta salad. Another option is to omit the garlic and salt and pepper and stir in some bread dip seasoning if you have it. And that oil/vinegar/seasoning mixture?? It makes an AWESOME dip for bread, too!

Enjoy!!!!

Chicken Parmesan

A couple of nights ago, we had Chicken Parmesan for dinner. One of the breasts was HUGE and we ended up with a large chunk of leftover chicken, some sauce, and some spaghetti noodles. The kids informed me that Chicken Parmesan was only good on the first day and would not eat it for lunch the next day. So, I was left with this:

I needed a lunch for the kids and I, so I came up with the idea of creating a Chicken Parmesan Stuffed Bread. Sounds a bit out-of-the-ordinary, but it was really good! They loved it. I just smile - it isn't good unless it's wrapped in bread?? Kids!!

I loaded my bread machine about 8:30 this morning with a nice french bread recipe. I pulled out the dough when it was done and rolled it out on my baking stone:

I took that leftover chicken and cubed it up, spreading it along the center of my dough like so:

Then I added some parmesan cheese and shredded mozzarella:

I braided the dough over the filling:

And let it rise nicely. I popped it into a 400° oven for about 30 minutes and it came out nicely browned. Take a peek:

We had these wonderful slices for our lunch, and all three kids loved them:

There was enough sauce and spaghetti left for a side dish, too!

So it might be a little bit different use for leftover Chicken Parmesan, but creativity is such an important factor in frugality. Isn't something unique and delicious much better than wasting leftover chicken?? And I got a whole other meal for everyone out of what one person might have eaten as it was! You have to love that!

Briefly Revisiting Meatloaf

Way back when my blog was new, I talked about what to do with leftover meatloaf. That post is here if you're new to Not Just Leftovers. Tonight, I did something new even for me with a chunk of meatloaf that remained from a meal earlier this week. One of the most essential things you can do in order to stretch your groceries is to experiment and be flexible.

I looked in my refrigerator today and found that I had about 1/5 of a large meatloaf left, along with a little rice (about 1/2 c.), a cup or so of corn, and a couple of cups of mashed potatoes. So, I decided to clean it all out and create dinner. First, I cut the loaf into small cubes and set it aside. Then I made 2 cups of brown gravy (boil water, add base/bouillon, dissolve, mix in cornstarch and water and let thicken - easy). After the gravy was nice and thick, I dumped in the meat, rice, and corn. I poured this into a shallow casserole and topped with the mashed potatoes and some shredded cheese. Yep, a perfect shepherd's pie!

I was going to take a photo of the creation, but I had a bit of a mess in making it. I had put the potatoes into my Pampered Chef Easy Accent Decorator, but it didn't function too well and instead of a pretty topping, I ended up with a mess that included potatoes on my countertop, stovetop, and floor. *sigh* So it isn't too pretty, and not worth documenting with a photo!! However, it tastes great and kids ate it up, which makes it worth doing.

Hen House Bargain Meal of the Week, 5/13/09

Sorry again for not keeping this series up to date. It's really difficult to find "bargains" at Hen House most of the time! :-) This week, though, inspiration struck as I was browsing the ad. This recipe may be a little different than your standard fare, but it's fun to mix it up now and then in the kitchen!

Here's your shopping list for this week:

1 lb. boneless skinless fresh chicken thighs, on sale for $2.29/lb
1 large green pepper, on sale for .69
1 small onion, on sale 3 lbs. Vidalia for $2
1 can coconut milk

From the pantry:

Curry sauce
Shredded sweetened coconut
Cornstarch
Rice, quick-cook or long-grain

Curried Coconut Chicken

1 lb. chicken thighs, cubed ($2.29)
1 large green pepper, sliced (.69)
1 small onion, chopped (.40)
1 c. coconut milk (shouldn't be more than $2)
1/2 c. (or more if you like spice) curry sauce (.50)
1 1/2 c. water, divided
1 T. cornstarch (.10)

Spray skillet with cooking spray and cook chicken cubes until done. Stir in peppers and onion and stir fry until onion becomes translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in coconut milk, curry sauce, and 1 c. water. Heat to a gentle boil.

Meanwhile, in a measuring cup, combine remaining 1/2 c. water and cornstarch till blended. Pour into skillet and stir gently to combine. Simmer 5-8 minutes, or until thickened.

Cook your rice according to package directions. If there is still coconut milk in your can, you can substitute this in the rice for an equal amount of water to give it a little more flavor.

Top your chicken with the shredded coconut and serve over rice.

Cost of meal:

Entree $5.98
Rice: .60
Coconut .30
Total: $6.88

A Leftover Rice "Keeper"

Don't you love it when you try something new and the family raves about it??? Today I made swiss steak for dinner and had a bowl of leftover rice in the refrigerator. I measured it and had 4 cups. That was, of course, plenty to serve just plain, but the kids wouldn't be thrilled with that, so I decided to experiment a little.

I dumped the rice in a bowl and mixed in what was left in a container of parmesan cheese and the cheese that remained in two bags in the fridge. I added 4 eggs to make it stick together. I think 5 would have been better, but 4 was what I had! I stirred it up and dropped it in scoops on the griddle, flattening it out. I cooked both sides and stacked them on a plate. I wasn't sure how these would be received, but when I tried them, they were good. I think they had about 5 different cheeses in them! :)

The kids absolutely LOVED them, and so did my DH. They were very different, and had a great cheesy taste that really went well with the rice. Everyone asked me to make these again.

Sometimes you just have to be creative to make the most of what you have left in the fridge. It doesn't always result in a new family favorite, but at least you know that you are stretching your food dollars further and further! What creative dishes have you created/tried lately? I'd love to hear about it!

An Idea for Cereal

This morning I made my kiddos their favorite Bananariffic Muffins for breakfast. I've had 5 bananas sitting on my counter for days, getting browner and browner, that needed to be utilized, and they LOVE those muffins.

After I had put the batter in the pans, it was time to make the topping, but I just didn't want to make it today. I looked over at my counter and remembered that I still had a little bit of Cinnamon Pecan Special K cereal left. That stuff is good! So, on a whim, I crushed up what was left and put it on top of my muffins, just to see how it worked. It was terrific!!!! The cereal stayed crunchy, and gave that little hint of extra sweetness. I will most definitely try this with other cereals.

So next time you just have some crumbs at the bottom of your cereal box, don't toss it! Try topping your next batch of homemade muffins and see how you like it!

More Fun with Leftover Roast

I mentioned in a prior post that I still had some leftover roast. Tonight I used it in a very unique way. I created a Bacon Cheeseburger Pizza!! Here's how it looked, but I wish I could let you taste it!! Yummmm!!!!


I made a sourdough pizza crust (in the bread machine) and par-baked it to get a wonderful rise. Then instead of pizza sauce, I spread ketchup on the crust. Now, please know that I did NOT put it on as thickly as I would have the pizza sauce. I just put a light coating over the entire crust. Then I topped it with the rest of my roast, bacon bits, and mushrooms and a drizzle of mustard on the part for DH and me. I then covered it in shredded CHEDDAR cheese and baked it. Now, if the kids would have tolerated it, I would have also added diced tomato, and I considered pickles. Both would have been very good. None of us like onions, so that wasn't an option! lol

This was such a wonderful dinner! It was unique enough to be very interesting, and the mustard drizzle was absolutely fabulous. Everyone asked me to make it again soon. I love experimenting with pizza, and especially when creative leftovers are involved. This little experiment is most definitely a keeper!!!

For more great recipes, be sure and visit the Grocery Cart Challenge!!

Hen House Bargain Meal of the Week, 4/22/09

Wow...I didn't realize it had been so long since I had participated in this challenge. I'm so sorry to anyone who checks for the lastest meal deal! Life has just been getting in the way lately and I've neglected this poor blog. I am trying to get back on track, and here is the latest Hen House Bargain Meal!

This week there are some meat sales, but most of the prices are still too high to be considered a "bargain." I did, however, find that fresh chicken drumsticks are on sale and that reminded me of a wonderful recipe that I found online. I used it for chicken leg quarters, and the kids loved it! The actual recipe calls for drumsticks, so it's perfect for today's Bargain Meal! It also fits into the category of lighter summer fare, which is the direction we're headed these days! :)

Your purchase list from Hen House for today's meal is:

1 1/2 lbs chicken drumsticks - on sale for $1.39/lb - $2.10
1 seedless watermelon (yum!) - $3.99
2 lbs. fresh green beans - on sale for .99/lb - $1.98

From the pantry: Flour, salt, paprika, pepper, margarine/butter.

Your menu:

Delicious Drumsticks (click on the link to go right to the recipe)
Cooked fresh green beans (add bacon bits or bits of ham for great flavor)
Sliced watermelon

Total cost of meal: $8.07, and I bet you have lots of watermelon and green beans left for the next day!!

Does that sound like a great summer meal, or what?? I love watermelon in the warmer weather, and it complements this chicken beautifully.

Let me know if you try this, and how you like it! And for more wonderful budget dinner ideas, click on the button on the right to go to 5 Dollar Dinners!